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"It
[the State] has taken on a vast mass of new duties and responsibilities; it has
spread out its powers until they penetrate to every act of the citizen, however
secret; it has begun to throw around its operations the high dignity and
impeccability of a State religion; its agents become a separate and superior
caste, with authority to bind and loose, and their thumbs in every pot. But it
still remains, as it was in the beginning, the common enemy of all
well-disposed, industrious and decent men. "
-- H. L. Mencken

Confidence in our System
Continues to Drop

I’ve written
about the decline our country for years and it is due to the greed and
corruption of what I’ve termed – The Washington-Wall Street Cartel who have
little regard for the condition our country has fallen to…or the social contract that used to exist. Elections certainly don't ever live up to the glib promises made...instead, we continue to lose our rights and the value of our dollar.

“Americans’ confidence in most
major U.S. institutions remains below the historical average for each one,” a Gallup spokesman said in a news relea

All in all, it’s a picture of a nation discouraged about its present
and worried about its future, and highly
doubtful that its institutions can pull America out of its trough.

There is plenty of good reason, with evidence
uncovered daily, weekly and consistently throughout the years of the hypocrisy and failures of
government, the failed promises of politicians, the lies and spin of the
mainstream media and newspapers, the greed and exploitation of the financial sector and the “just us”
mentality of above-the-law enforcers who are supposed to uphold justice.

Just check out how little faith remains in
the structure of, well, just about any institution in America, by the numbers:

Only 8 percent have confidence in
Congress, down by 16
points from a long-term average of 24 percent – the lowest of all
institutions rated.

33 percent have confidence in the
presidency, a drop
from a historical average of 43 percent.

32 percent have confidence in the
Supreme Court, down from
44.

28 percent have confidence
in banks, down from
40 percent.

21 percent have confidence in big
business, down from
24 percent.

24 percent have confidence in
organized labor, down
from 26.

24 percent have confidence in
newspapers, down from
32 percent.

21 percent have confidence in
television news, down from
30 percent.

What else can be said, but that the system is
broken?

Obviously it bears little resemblance to the
one envisioned by the founding fathers and their emphasis on separation of
powers and limited government.

None of the three branches of government are
trusted by even close to a majority of the American populace… maybe that’s to
be expected, with frequent media criticisms of political figures in a
polarizing two party system.

But other pillars of society have lost their
backing of the public, too – in astonishing numbers that show not only that the
American dream is dead, but that private institutions are widely perceived as being just as
corrupt as public ones (or worse).

To top it off – this perception is entirely
deserved. The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis consolidated the power and wealth of the big banks, and gave the Federal Reserve
ultimate power over the economy, while average Americans suffered greatly.

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